April 3, 2025 — The University of Maine has launched a quarter-scale prototype of a floating wind turbine base that researchers hope will pave the way for commercial-scale wind power development in the Gulf of Maine.
Project officials first sought to float the 380-ton floating concrete base for the prototype from the seaplane ramp at Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton on Sunday, but initially could not get it far enough down the ramp to get it to float when high tide peaked at around noon, according to Bar Harbor Story.
A later attempt, shortly after midnight, was successful, according to UMaine spokesperson Marcus Wolf.